Experience an unforgettable summer studying abroad.
Whatever your particular cultural or national target area may be, there are innumerable summer study abroad programs to accomodate you. Sifting through every single country’s offerings will prove nettlesome to the reader (not to mention the writer) and so I am proposing two categories of programs. Within each one I will lay out a few highly attractive options based on my own research and subjective personal experience.
1) Language Programs
While I don’t suggest you can master a language in one summer, there is no downside to enlisting in some intensive linguistic bootcamp to hone or sharpen your studied foreign tongue, or spark an interest in a new one.
Ironically, one of the best summer language schools, at Middlebury, is here in the states, and so while technically out of bounds, I couldn’t resist at least mentioning it.
In terms of abroad study, LinksAbroad provides myriad countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and summer programs from which to choose. Chinese and Arabic, the most difficult and most sought after languages of our times, are both offered here at reasonable prices.
If you follow the linguistic trend and plunge into Arabic, Egypt is an excellent place to begin. It has a variety of programs, a familiarity with westerners due to its booming tourist industry, inexpensive cost of living, and I love their falafel sandwiches. A particularly choice course is at the International Language Institute.
Many countries offer work/study language courses. Israel and its dwindling kibbutz communities still offer summer Hebrew ‘Ulpans,’ or intensive courses that are widely praised. This normally involved working half the day at some menial task like chasing chickens, and the other half conjugating blocky looking Hebrew verbs. Room and board is provided at a doable rate.
Ulpan Akiva makes for a good selection. If you like to have loads of down time and relaxation, this is for you.
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2) Good Times with an Educational Framework
Let’s face it, most of us explore the study abroad scene not just for its educational benefits, but to meet new people, experience new cultures, and rub shoulders with casts of characters who enjoy a good laugh and a beer that isn’t Budweiser or Coors.
Prague has been for decades somewhat of a magnet for lost Americans trying to find their way across the Charles Bridge, but they also have some decent summer study abroad programs, most notably its University of Jerome option traditionally offered through Northwestern University.
I can personally attest to the worthwhile nature of this trip. You will take fascinating walking tours of historical Prague, totally enraptured in the city’s troubled and beautiful history. You will also enjoy the best beer in the world at the best prices, and the highlight of the program is a night at a Czech winery in the countryside, where the wine flows like a gushing river.
If Prague ain’t your bag, or you yearn for an enormous list of paths and roads to travel, try
this site,
which provides information on almost every single summer study abroad program in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised to find one on the moon on the that Web site.
